SAPPHO — A 20-year-old woman from Beaver who drowned Monday afternoon in the Sol Duc River was wearing a life jacket but became trapped by an uprooted tree in a river so swollen by rain that it was described by one kayaking expert as “off the charts.”
Emergency service personnel confirmed Tuesday that Christina Watson, 20, was wearing a life jacket when she drowned on Monday afternoon.
“It was just a terrible accident. I’ve known the family for 30 years. She was a good kid,” said Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Lenahan.
Watson and a companion were rafting in separate float tubes, Lenahan said on Tuesday.
Watson’s tube was snagged on a tree in the Sol Duc River near U.S. Highway 101 milepost 203 at Sappho.
Jennifer Cooper, 21, of Forks, escaped from the river and was able to get help at a nearby house.
Cooper was treated by medical personnel at the scene and released.
Lenahan said that Watson and Cooper were dressed properly and “as prepared as they could be” for the trip.
The two women had planned to float down the river from Tumbling Rapids, a Rayonier recreation park, about a quarter mile to the fish hatchery, he said.
“Watson got snagged and sucked under. Cooper went some distance farther downstream and got out on the other side,” Lenahan said.
